Report 2021-105 Recommendation 24 Responses
Report 2021-105: Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct (Release Date: April 2022)
Recommendation #24 To: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
To proactively identify signs that officers may need additional training or supports to address possible biased behavior, Los Angeles Sheriff should, by April 2023, adopt a policy and implement procedures that align with best practices for an effective early intervention system. The system should do the following:
- Track and incorporate data at the officer level related to complaints, uses of force, and other indicators as appropriate, and use these data to identify officers who could benefit from early intervention. The system should include analysis of stops data that identifies officers based on indications of possible biased conduct.
- Specify a range of early intervention options—such as trainings, mentoring or other supervisory approaches, mental health services, or reassignment—with guidance about how to apply them to the particular circumstances of each officer's conduct. The system should require prompt interventions that address the identified issues with or patterns in the officers' conduct, including conduct related to bias.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023
None at this time
- Estimated Completion Date: None
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
1-Year Agency Response
The LASD Data Systems Bureau is currently working on an early intervention system to address concerning patterns of behavior which may require Department personnel to receive additional training, remediation, and/or discipline if warranted.
In addition, the Antelope Valley North Compliance Team is evaluating an "off the shelf product" which can track similar information and identify patterns of concern for the Antelope Valley stations.
To date, both systems/products are under review.
- Estimated Completion Date: None at this time
- Response Date: May 2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending
6-Month Agency Response
There is no change to the status of this recommendation from the previous response.
- Estimated Completion Date: Unknown
- Response Date: October 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
The definition of Bias behavior in policing has been fiercely debated in the past, and to date, a clear and exhaustive definition of actions or behavior considered to be bias have not been identified by the state or any other governmental entity. Therefore, independently modifying or establishing an obtainable, realistic, and all-inclusive investigative process and discipline matrix would be difficult at this time.
- Estimated Completion Date: TBD
- Response Date: June 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
As we state in the report, Los Angeles Sheriff already has a bias-free policing policy, and therefore it is already incumbent on Los Angeles Sheriff to have a thorough and consistent method for assessing whether its officers have violated this policy. We state in the report that a statewide definition of biased conduct would clarify expectations for law enforcement departments; however, the lack of a statewide definition does not leave Los Angeles Sheriff incapable of implementing our recommendations for improvements to its misconduct investigations. In our report we provided guidelines for how it should do so, including example criteria for identifying biased conduct and specific elements that a definition of biased conduct should include.
All Recommendations in 2021-105
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.